Pressure Cooking 101: Cooking Beans, Rice, and Wheat Berries

31 Comments

1. 

   Crystal! These videos are great! I'm so excited about your entire 101 series.

   Thanks!

2. 

   I do not own a pressure cooker, but I think you are convincing me to invest in one. I wouldn't be surprised if I did. I feel like I try just about everything else you suggest on your blog. 🙂

3. 

   I do not own a pressure cooker, but I think you are convincing me to invest in one. I wouldn't be surprised if I did. I feel like I try just about everything else you suggest on your blog. 🙂

4. 

   Great series! Can you book your rice with your chicken at the same time in a pressure cooker?

5. 

   It depends on the recipe. Like I said, the best thing to do is find a
   pressure cooker recipe similar to what you would like to do.

6. 

   Thanks so much for your videos! I've been debating on buying a pressure and did so today. Can't wait to see what you have in store for us next.

7. 

   I always thought beans held various posions and that was the reason you ust soak overnight and then rinse them bfore cooking. Am I wrong here or is it only certain beans.

   1. 

      The FDA recommends soaking for five hours and rinsing. Rinsing is good but not enough. Boiling for ten minutes breaks down the poisons like phytohaemagglutinin. The danger lies in using a slow cooker because it isn’t hot enough to boil food. Search on “kidney bean poisoning” to find more information. Search “kidney bean poisoning FDA” to find FDA webpage on bean poisoning. This precaution applies to eating raw green beans too.

8. 

   Crystal, I always thought the reason beans must be soaked overnight was that they have various posions which can be harmful if eaten.

   Is this not true or is it only certain kinds of beans.

9. 

   Nothing I've seen says that is true…but feel free to double check at the
   Utah University Extension Service (http://www.extension.usu.edu)

10. 

    Nothing I've seen says that is true…but feel free to double check at the
    Utah University Extension Service (http://www.extension.usu.edu)

11. 

    OK. I'm a convert. I bought myself a pressure cooker for Mothers Day last week after watching your videos. Tonight I made my famous refried beans that typically take 8 hours in the crock pot. Twenty-four minutes of cooking time and they were done. Amazing. Thank you so much for the information. You and your fans need this recipe. I can't remember the last time I bought refried beans in a can.

    3 cups dry pinto beans, picked over and rinsed (you could use Anasazi beans or black beans)
    8 cups water
    1 onion peeled and halved
    2 tablespoons minced garlic (I just peel several cloves and throw them in whole)
    3 teaspoons salt (didn't seem to affect the cooking at all)
    1-3/4 teaspoons black pepper
    1 teaspoon cumin
    1 can diced green chiles
    4 teaspoons oil (not necessary in the crock pot)

    Either crock pot it on high for 8 hours or pressure cook it for 24 minutes. Drain. I use my immersion (stick) blender and add back some of the drained liquid (about 1/4 cup) until it is the desired consistency. If you don't have an immersion blender, grab the potato masher and go to town. Dehydrated onions and granulated garlic could certainly be substituted for fresh.

    Thanks again, Crystal. I look forward to experimenting with my new favorite appliance.

12. 

    Thanks for the recipe, let me know if you do a natural pressure release or a
    quick pressure release for you recipe.!

13. 

    Natural.

    ————————————————–

14. 

    I am so thrill that I found your website. I bought my pressure cooker about 2 months ago. I have been wanting to cook with it foa awhile but have only cook lentil soup (which was the best ever). I hope tou will have many more videos showing various recipes. I feel like a kid in a candy shop in your site, Thanks Crystal.;D

15. 

    TY Crystal…for the demo! and all the help.
    One tip that I do is …when I fill plastic baggies , I first put them in a coffee mug and fold down over the sides. This will hold the baggie.
    That way it is much easier to fill.
    You have a great web site!
    Looking forward to seeing more:)

16. 

    I just made pinto beans and ham in my new elec. p/c and I give it an A+++
    Thank you for this website w/all the info and encouragement

17. 

    YEAH!!

18. 

    What type of beans do you use, I see that they are white, but are they kidney beans?

19. 

    They are white navy beans.

20. 

    I FINALLY made beans in my pressure cooker yesterday. They turned out great. However, my pressure cooker book said that it was best to soak them first – either the long or the quick soak method but long method was best. It also said to cook the black beans for 10-12 minutes. I only cooked mine for 10 and then let them naturally release pressure. They taste great but they seem a bit overcooked – a little soft and easily split open or mashed with trying to scoop them with a spoon. Any suggestions?

21. 

    try not soaking them

22. 

    One of my most vivid memories from my early teen years is the sonic boom sound, that the pressure cooker my dad had left cooking beans, made when the top flew into the ceiling. lol My parents loved their pressure cooker. I had no idea how long a roast really took in an oven. My dad fell asleep while cooking the beans. The whole kitchen looked like a volcano of beans had erupted. It took forever to clean up. My mother to this day still, mentions how much easier life was before he ruined the pressure cooker.
    I myself decided it was just too dangerous to own one. After watching your posts (PS I love them, you are one of the only reasons I log in to youtube) I am gonna buy one.

    1. 

       Yeap. Many products were very dangerous, fifty years ago. But, a lot  has changed since then. Today’s cars have air bags, seat belts, padded dashboards, side view mirrors and safety glass. And today all pressure cookers many safety features. Throw out your mother’s pressure cooker and buy any modern one.

23. 

    Dried bean are not poisonous. The soaking is to rehydrate the bean for cooking purposes. However even if you don't soak them you should wash them off. The process to dry bean does not allow them to be washed before packaging ( would create mold or sprouting) so they are often dirty.

24. 

    Really old pressure cookers from decades ago didn’t have safety features. Modern stove top pressure cookers have a lot more safety features than you think. They have the  now have interlocks so that they can’t be opened while under pressure. They have blow out plugs to release pressure if the normal regulator gets clogged. The main seal is big and soft enough to blow out before the lid explodes. You always have to be careful no matter what you do in the kitchen. You just have to drive out the air before putting on the weight. You have to adjust the heat so that almost no steam escapes during cooking. You must use oil to suppress foam. Remember to run to the shower and rinse with cold water, clothes and all,  in case of any fire or explosion in the kitchen. Then dial 911.

25. 

    I wanted to cook dry white beans in my new Wolfgang Puck electric pressure cooker so I watched your video. However, I wasn’t sure how many cups of beans you had prepared in your video so I decided to cook 4 cups of dry beans. I added 8 cups of water then set the timer for about 22-23 minutes. They were cooked perfectly! THANK YOU for providing the video! 

    Regards, Sharon

26. 

    I put salt in my beans before cooking them all the time and they cook just fine.

27. 

    Will bean puree work as a substitute in pressure cooker to prevent froth?

    1. 

       I don’t think so.

28. 

    Thank you so much for these videos! My pressure cooker, a Fagor, didn’t come with good instructions or recipes, so you really helped me learn how to use it. Now I use it everyday!